This year in Estero marked three years since the election that incorporated the village and two years since the inaugural election of the Estero Village Council.

Since then, Estero continues to change and grow with new experiences in the village.

From changes to its leadership to the deluge of rain and wind from Hurricane Irma and from another storm just a few weeks before, here are five of the biggest stories in Estero in 2017:

1. Change comes to the Estero Village Council

Then-candidate for District 3, Don Brown, speaks during the Village of Estero Community Forum at Living Waters Church in Estero on Saturday, January 31, 2015. At the time, he was in a two-person race to represent District 3 on the inaugural Village Council.(Photo: Logan Newell / Correspondent)

“Working with many wonderful Estero residents on the initial incorporation of the Village of Estero and helping the Village through its first two years has given me great satisfaction,” he wrote at the time.

A storm debris drop off site was opened at the Estero Community Park and closed in early December.

3. An ethics debate begins in Estero

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Joe McHarris, chairman of the Estero Design and Review Board and owner of Bonita Springs-based McHarris Planning & Design, speaks to the Estero Design and Review Board during a meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

A Naples Daily News analysis in July, prompted in part by concerns raised by Councilor Howard Levitan, found two Design Review board members recused themselves and then lobbied before the board as private citizens for multiple development projects in Estero.

5. Coach Jeff Sommer Memorial Highway is dedicated

Members of the Estero cross country and track teams gather underneath the sign for the newly dedicated Jeff Sommer Memorial Highway in Estero. Sommer, the longtime athletic director and coach at Estero, died in 2015 while coaching his runners at the state track meet.(Photo: Andrew Sodergren/Staff)

The highway spans from U.S. 41 and Coconut Road north to Corkscrew Road and a sign reading “Coach Jeff Sommer Memorial Highway" was unveiled on the day of the ceremony.

Family and community members spoke at the event, honoring the former Estero High School cross country coach, track coach and athletic director who died in May 2015 after he collapsed during a state track meet in Jacksonville.

“I don’t know if words can even express what this means for our family. It’s just amazing the impact he had. I guess I knew he always had it, but the magnitude of that impact is just incredible,” said Sue Sommer, the late coach’s wife.